FDA CVM Vet-LIRN PROGRAM GRANT PROPOSAL FOR FOA # PAR-18-604 ABSTRACT This grant proposal from the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) is in response to Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) # PAR-18-604 from the Food and Drug Administration?s (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Office of Research Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN). The purpose of this proposal from ODA?s Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (ADDL) is to address the following key project areas: 1. Increasing the capacity of laboratories conducting pathogen diagnostic testing by funding the updating or purchasing of additional equipment. 2. Procurement of supplies needed for molecular testing efforts or method improvement. 3. Develop/validate rapid tests to identify the source genera within animal food products. 4. Purchase of equipment to improve the testing capacity, data analysis, and quality control of qPCR for Vet-LIRN foodborne pathogen case investigations. 5. Conduct increased testing in response to a new need identified by the VPO. This grant proposal addresses new technologies in molecular diagnostics that employ the use of high-throughput, high-performance instrumentation and access to data via a secure Cloud. The QuantStudio line of PCR systems are the latest advancements in qPCR instrumentation. Several additional documents including internal Proficiency Testing (PT) results (appendix of Research Plan), and certificate of AAVLD accreditation (appendix of Research Plan) are provided along with the